Economic History and Game Theory: A Survey

Abstract

This paper surveys the small, yet growing, literature that employs game theory for economic history analysis. It elaborates on the promise and challenge of integrating game theoretical and economic history analyses and presents the approaches taken in conducting such an integration. Most of the essay, however, is devoted to presenting studies in economic history that utilize game theory as their main analytical framework. Studies are presented based on their substance to highlight the range of potential topics in economic history that can be and had been enriched through a game theoretical analysis.